How to Clean Tough Grease on Your Microwave

The best way to clean tough grease from a microwave is to wet a towel with warm water and a small amount of soap. You can also use a scrubby sponge to wipe your microwave with a mixture of ammonia or vinegar and water for more stubborn food stains.

Here are the step-by-step processes of cleaning your microwave with vinegar, soap, lemon, and much more. It only takes five minutes!

What You Need

• A couple of towels
• Water
• Soap
• Ammonia, vinegar, or other non-abrasive cleaning solution (optional)

1. Wet a towel with warm water and soap. For tough stains and baked-on food, spray your microwave with a multipurpose cleaner.

2. Wipe down grease and dirt from your over-the-range microwave.

How do you clean grease off appliances?

Use a multi-purpose cleaner, ammonia, vinegar, or other non-abrasive cleaning solutions to clean grease off your cooking appliances.

If you have the time, spray the affected area and wait a few minutes to allow the cleaning agent to break down grease.

This technique makes multitasking easy. Spray your appliances with the cleaner then go work on something else for a few minutes.

By the time you’re done, all you’ll need to do is wipe everything down. You won’t have to waste time and energy furiously scrubbing, while also risking that you damage your appliance.

We recommend using a microfiber cloth instead of a paper towel. You don’t want the paper residue to come off onto your appliances. Don’t forget to clean the inside too.

How do you clean a sticky microwave?

For the outside of the microwave, any solution that combines water and ammonia or vinegar will clean your microwave effectively. See “Cleaning Solutions” below for the specific water-to-cleaner ratios.

For the inside of your microwave, fill a bowl with water and add three to four tablespoons of vinegar. Set the bowl in the microwave and run it for two to three minutes so that the vinegar solution boils, softening the tough grease.

After you’ve heated it up, wipe the inside of the microwave with a damp towel. Finally, dry it thoroughly.

Cleaning a microwave with vinegar or ammonia will also neutralize cooking odors effectively. Keep reading – we’ll talk about how to get rid of those pesky cooking smells below.

How do you dissolve cooking grease?

For grease on small, non-electric appliances, soaking is a great option. First, fill your sink with warm water and dish soap. Then, soak your appliances in the sink for a few minutes. The appliance may need more time to soak depending on the toughness of the grease or stain.

If you need to remove grease from the surface of an appliance, try applying liquid dish soap directly to the spot you are cleaning and let it sit for a bit.

If that isn’t enough – even after soaking – try one of the cleaning solutions listed below.

Effective Household Cleaners

To make these household cleaners, all you need is a measuring cup, water, and either ammonia, vinegar, or baking soda.

Ammonia and Water: 1 tablespoon per cup of water

Water and Vinegar: 0.5 tablespoon per cup of water for easy-to-clean stains and wiping surfaces; 2 tablespoons per cup to break down tough grease, clean your flooring, or other similar cleaning jobs.

Baking Soda and Vinegar: Sprinkle baking soda onto your appliance or surface and then spray the area with vinegar. Now grab a sponge and scrub the surface to break down your tough stains.

You can also make a paste combining three parts baking soda with one part water, which will give your appliance a more thorough clean.

First, spread the paste over the area of interest. Wait for it to dry so that the baking soda has time to break down the tough baked-on food. Then spray it with vinegar and the solution will begin to sizzle; now watch as it breaks down the grease right before your eyes.

How to Deodorize a Microwave

Baking Soda

Baking soda is an incredibly effective odor remover. Just sprinkle it inside your microwave, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe your microwave clean with a damp cloth.

You can also place a bowl of water combined with two tablespoons of baking soda into your microwave and let it run for about three minutes. The baking soda will completely neutralize the smells in your microwave while breaking down the dirt.

This strategy not only works with microwaves, but also on carpets, tile, and kitchen appliances.

Boil Vinegar and Water

Simply set a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl with two tablespoons of white vinegar and a few cups of water in your microwave. Then, run your microwave on high for two to three minutes to deodorize it. This will also soften up tough grease stains and baked-on food.

Carefully remove the bowl (it will be hot) and wipe down the inside of the microwave with a clean rag. Don’t forget to wipe the microwave door too.

The vinegar may be a little strong and steam will escape into the kitchen, so when you open the door, don’t get too close.

Boil Lemon Juice and Water

This method works great if you don’t have vinegar or baking soda on you. Combine two tablespoons of lemon juice in a cup of water, put it in a medium microwave safe bowl, and run it on high power for two to three minutes. Then, let the mixture sit in your microwave for five to 10 minutes.

Wipe down the inside and the microwave door and you’re done. Whatever harsh odors you had in your microwave will be replaced by the pleasant and clean citrusy smell of lemon.

What is the best degreaser for your kitchen?

There are hundreds of degreasers on the market today. You can browse some of the best kitchen degreasers that work fantastic as microwave cleaners in this complete article.

Think about the purpose of your degreaser. Are you looking to remove some light grease from the outside of your appliances and give them a beautiful shine? Then you can likely stick with a light-duty or basic degreaser.

Or do you wrestle with caked-on grease inside your stove, microwave, and other cookware? Perhaps you’re looking to clean commercial appliances that accumulate grease daily. In that case, a heavy-duty degreaser is for you.

Recap

A clean microwave means you won’t have to be worried about letting your guests in the kitchen. It will help your kitchen smell nice and fresh.

That being said, if you own an over-the-range microwave, consider replacing it with a range hood that will vent unwanted contaminants out of your home more effectively. This will make cleaning much easier; you won’t have to deal with all the tough grease on your microwave over the stove.

You may be wondering: How exactly does a hood save me time in the kitchen? Here are three different ways that a range hood makes you more efficient:

First, at Proline Range Hoods, our range hoods are manufactured with premium stainless steel, durable stain-resistant material that will keep your hood clean for weeks at a time. For more information, we have a detailed article on how to clean your stainless steel range hood; check it out here.

Second, our hoods are also complete with LED or Halogen lights to illuminate your cooktop and keep you on task in the kitchen.

Third, Proline’s hoods feature baffle or mesh filters that are dishwasher-safe, saving you time and effort cleaning in the kitchen.

If you don’t own a range hood and your microwave is above your oven, it’ll gather grease and dirt fast. So, consistently clean your over-the-range microwave and you won’t have this problem.

Browse our professional range hoods below.

Hopefully this article showed you how to clean a microwave quickly and easily. There are so many ways to clean it that you can’t go wrong. Just pick one and try it out!

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